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Thursday, March 18, 2010

In a world first, Toronto designer Nada Shepherd decided to forgo the LG Fashion Week which takes place from March 28 to April 3 and instead presented her fall collection in the form of a seven minute short film in 3D. Collaborating with director Grant Padley and cinematographer Tim Dashwood, she created an action-oriented piece that mimicked a video game. It played at Toronto's Scotiabank Theatre on Richmond St. W. to a packed audience on Wednesday night.

Two models play fembots who battle each other in several sequences that progress like different levels of a video game. One of the models was Toronto actor and stunt-woman Cheryl Quiacos, who acted as fight choreographer for the film.

The film wasn't anything on the level of Avatar, of course. But it was well-made, interesting, and an exciting new way to present a fashion show. It featured martial arts, wire-work, wind machines and various weapons in addition to the variety of outfits. It went by quickly, but then fashion shows themselves are always all-too-brief as well.

I think it was an excellent idea to present her collection this way, and I'm surprised that no one has done it before. I don't see it replacing the traditional catwalk for models and designers. But film and fashion have always been natural partners, especially around the Awards season that just finished. The additional 3D element was icing on the cake. Shepherd said that she envisioned a futuristic video and it was her husband who came up with the idea by asking, "what about 3D?"
You can watch the short film online at http://www.nada3d.com and check Nada's 2010 Fall Collection at http://www.nadadesigns.com/

From the press release:

FUTURE FASHION/FASHION FUTURE
NADA FALL 2010 CAMPAIGN
Action packed 3D cinematography is the perfect backdrop to showcase the Fall 2010 NADA collection. In the film ‘Future Fashion/Fashion Future’ female strength and freedom embodied in NADA clad Fembots highlight fashions newest silhouettes as never before. Advanced cinematic technology pairs well with superior design and the cutting-edge fabrics used in this collection.

Taking the place of the traditional runway show, Fembots clad in NADA take to the screen in a virtual 3D computer environment designed by Pheinixx Paul of Pencil. The film is Directed by Grant Padley, with Producer Kevin Hedley of Atomic Clock Cinematic Arts in conjunction with Stereo 3D Unlimited’s Paul Rapovski and 3D Cinematographer / Post-Supervisor Tim Dashwood. It features the use of innovative software from Dashwood Cinema Solutions, PHYX and Noise Industries, a leading developer of visual effects tools for the post production and broadcast markets.

The production of this 3D fashion-first was documented by CTV’s FashionTelevision team, Canada’s leading fashion series that covers the worlds of fashion, beauty and design.

2 comments:

Looks like a great application for the small cameras and the sony deck. I would have thought that a beam splitter rig would give you more flexiblity to enhance the 3D effects. What was the general shooting stop of the project?